The Growing Disconnect in Higher Education
A growing disconnect between students and academic institutions reveals a troubling trend where higher education is increasingly viewed as a mere transaction rather than a transformative experience, but a Christian Liberal Arts University offers a transformative education that goes beyond job training.
According to Beth McMurtrie in her article, “Customers in the Classroom,” students now approach college primarily as a means to secure future employment, often prioritizing grades and job prospects over genuine intellectual and personal growth. This shift has led to a common belief among students that “Cs get degrees” and that their education should be optimized for efficiency rather than deep learning.
Niheer Patel, a freshman at the University of Pennsylvania, poignantly observes,
“We are killing the things that bring us joy (and good to the world) in the pursuit of the false god that is absurd wealth.”[1]
This quote encapsulates the broader frustration that college is increasingly seen as a transactional process aimed at achieving financial success rather than a place for meaningful exploration and development.
The Alternative: A Christian Liberal Arts University
In light of these challenges, a Christian liberal arts university offers a compelling alternative. Unlike the prevailing model of higher education, which often emphasizes efficiency and job readiness, a Christ-centered liberal arts education prioritizes intellectual, spiritual, and personal growth. It aims to cultivate a sense of vocation and purpose, guiding students not only in their academic pursuits but also in their broader life missions.
While a classical education in primary and secondary schools provides a robust foundation in the essential skills of learning and knowledge, Christian liberal arts universities prepare students to become leaders in their homes, churches, communities, and occupations.
As we confront tremendous problems—economic, societal, environmental, and more—the need for wisdom and leadership grows. Christ-centered liberal arts institutions, grounded in a holistic educational philosophy, are crucial for developing young leaders who can navigate and address these complex issues with both competence and integrity.
The Need for Wisdom in a Broken World
Wisdom goes beyond mere knowledge and intellect; it requires a well-rounded education and the application of intellect to promote the common good. The societal and cultural problems we encounter reveal our world’s brokenness. Our world desperately needs wisdom. This is why Christ-centered, liberal arts universities are more important than ever.
The Ancient Roots of Liberal Arts Education
Quality liberal arts institutions remain grounded in the liberal arts model developed thousands of years ago in ancient Greece, where education equipped students to live freely and virtuously according to their place within the established order.
Classical education in the early years of a child’s life trained the student in:
- the foundational skills of speaking
- reasoning
- persuading well
Eventually, students progressed into exploring the world through formal disciplines such as:
- mathematics
- history
- philosophy
- science
These students of the ancient liberal arts education sought to answer the major questions of life through their study of these disciplines: Who am I? How do I relate to others? What does it mean to live well, or more directly, what is the good life? In the Athenian world, education that addressed such questions was vital because the ultimate goal was to enable students to better serve the polis, or the public square.
This model of education became part of the American ideal for what constitutes a liberal arts at the university level. But Christ-centered liberal arts education has a much loftier, important goal – namely, the transformation of students into a greater measure of being in the image of Jesus Christ.
The Unique Advantage of a Christ-Centered Education
The distinct advantage of a Christian liberal arts higher education is that it recognizes that the answers to these fundamental questions arise from the ultimate source of Truth that we have come to know in God.
Consequently, as Arthur Holmes suggested in The Idea of a Christian College, a Christ-centered liberal arts higher education is advantageous because it provides students with a firmer understanding of four concepts:
- God’s creation
- the human person created in God’s image
- God as the source of all truth
- the cultural mandate for Christians.
Holmes noted, “To confess God as Creator and Christ as Lord is thus to affirm his hand in all life and thought. It is to admit that the Creator calls us to exhibit his wisdom and power both by exploring the creation and developing its resources and by bringing our own created abilities to fulfillment.”[2]
God has imbued the world with the order that we find through a liberal arts study; true freedom can be found in knowing and living according to God’s right order. In this way, we offer a more unified and coherent education that offers answers to life’s most important questions in ways consistent with the witness of Scripture and the calling God makes on the life of every believer.
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Education as a Journey Toward Virtue and Service
Ultimately, a Christ-centered liberal arts higher education aims to cultivate the mind, engage the heart, and develop the soul.
Such aims are increasingly crucial in today’s confused and disillusioned world. Syncretism fashions our spirituality, civil discourse is condemned as an anachronism, and vice proves more expedient than virtue. High school and college students across the nation are often conditioned to view education as a mere pathway to a singular occupation rather than as a journey toward living a life of virtue and service.
A Christian liberal arts higher university presents an alternative view of the purpose of education and of life itself.[3] Christ-centered liberal arts institutions provide students with a well-rounded, multifaceted education that fosters curiosity and deep engagement with the world.
These institutions prioritize not only the academic development of their students but also their spiritual growth, addressing life’s profound questions and preparing graduates to serve the world with Christ-like character in their chosen fields. At Christian liberal arts universities, the love of God is nurtured through academic rigor and deep engagement with a diverse range of disciplines, each highlighting different aspects of God’s kingdom and ultimately bringing glory to Him.
Matthew 22:37-39 serves as a foundation for a Christ-centered education: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” and “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Our love for God drives our pursuit of knowledge about His character and creation, and that knowledge should equip us in mind, heart, and soul to serve our neighbor.
This connection between rightly ordered love and knowledge is the essence of an excellent Christ-centered, liberal arts higher education.
A Worthy Investment in Truth and Transformation
As the value of higher education remains under scrutiny, a proper understanding and implementation of a Christ-centered liberal arts education reveals itself to be a profound investment in developing individuals who are intellectually, spiritually, and morally equipped to make a meaningful impact in the world.
As more and more prognosticators, editorialists, parents, and students question the value of higher education, a proper understanding and implementation of a Christ-centered liberal arts higher education turns the question around – could this, in fact, be one of the best investments that one could make in their lives?
Taylor University is a Christian liberal arts college located in Upland, Indiana. With 100% of faculty, staff, and students professing faith in Jesus, Taylor is committed to its mission to develop servant-leaders marked with a passion to minister Christ’s redemptive love, grace, and truth to a world in need.
[1] Beth McMurtie, “Customers in the Classroom,” in The Chronicle of Higher Education, available https://www.chronicle.com/article/customers-in-the-classroom.
[2] Arthur F. Holmes, The Idea of a Christian College, Revised Edition (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing), p. 21.
[3] Laurie Matthias describes how the purpose of Christian higher education is to enable students to live the abundant life of service, as a way to worship their Savior. See “Faith and Learning,” in David S. Dockery and Christopher W. Morgan, eds., Christian Higher Education: Faith, Teaching, and Learning in the Evangelical Tradition (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2018), 169-186.
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